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TIME-REPORTING SYSTEM ===================== Version 2.8 IDG Micro Products Copyright 1992,1993. All rights reserved. Programs and Documentation This Time-Reporting System is a Shareware product and is freely available from User groups, Bulletin Boards or other sources. Shareware is NOT public domain software. It is user-supported software. You have the opportunity to see whether the programs suit your company's needs and improve your company's efficiency. If you find that they do, please send the requested registration fee of $80 U.S or $95 Canadian together with a completed, printed copy of the registration form found in the REGISTER.FRM file to: IDG Micro Products PO Box 26544, Markville RPO Markham, Ontario L3R 0M4 Canada ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | | FREE Additional Programs ! | | | | ALL REGISTERED USERS will receive a copy of the TRSSPV, | | TRSWRK, TRSRCP and TRSRPT programs, described in more | | detail elsewhere in this documentation. | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you should come across any bugs or have any comments regarding the programs or suggestions for improvements, please send them to the address above. If you would like a reply, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. In the case of bugs, a copy of the files, an indication of what action caused the problem and the exact wording of any error messages would be helpful. DISCLAIMER Under no circumstances shall the Author be liable for any damages, including loss of profit, data or use of the software, or special, incidental or consequential damages or other similar claims, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such damages. Remember that Shareware can only exist as long as YOU support it! TIME-REPORTING SYSTEM ===================== System Documentation The Time Reporting System (TRS) is designed to replace the inefficient "in-out" boards generally found in reception areas. The TRS is a PC-based system running on Novell networks and allowing employees to indicate their current whereabouts in order to improve the company's internal communication and the efficiency of the receptionist(s) when handling client telephone calls. The TRS consists of one or more Time Reporting Consoles (TRC), dedicated PCs found at receptionist desks as well as dedicated Time Recording Units (TRU) and/or other PCs hooked up to the network. The Consoles will display for each employee whether he/she is "in" or "out" and, if "out", the reason for the absence and the expected time of return. The receptionist also has the ability to add and change employee information, including booking people out for prolonged periods (i.e. business trips, vacations, sick leave etc), correcting mistakes due to failure by an employee to book in or out during the day and change the system server's clock time. Recording Units are one or more dedicated PCs used by employees to log their in/out activity during the day. It can also be used by employees who expect to be in late the next working day. Other PC workstations on the network can do what the TRU does and, in addition, can display the current whereabouts of other employees in a format identical to that at the receptionist station. However, they cannot perform any updates on that information. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ===================== In order to use the system you need 1) a PC Lan running Novell Netware. 2) a network server with free hard disk space of at least 200 Kb per employee listed (average 1-year's worth of data). 3) One dedicated PC or compatible per receptionist (386 or faster is preferred) 4) One dedicated PC or compatible as a TRU (basic PC will do) Having other PCs or compatibles on the network will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the system. THE PROGRAMS ============ The Time Reporting System includes the following programs: TRSCLK This is the main program of the TRS system and performs the functions necessary to maintain the information kept in the various files and to display the current in/out status for all employees. In order to ensure a high degree of data integrity, all functions the program performs, with the exception of the attendance information display function, require passwords. This program should run on a dedicated PC and, for proper operation of the system, should be running at all times. There are two levels of security access through passwords: a) a basic level, used by receptionists and b) a supervisory level for access to the more sensitive information on the system. (See also "Set Passwords"). TRSSTN This program should run on one or more dedicated PCs and should be active at all times. It allows employees to record their in/out activity during the day and to indicate that they will be in late, or will not be in at all, the next working day. (See also User documentation for the TRSSTN and TRSWRK programs). TRSRCP (Available only to registered users) Identical to TRSCLK, this program should be used if more than one receptionist is on the system using the same files as TRSCLK. DO NOT run more than one copy of TRSCLK, using the same data files, at one time. This will cause unpredictable results particularly at year-end. The TRSCLK program must have run before TRSRCP can be executed. (See also "Year end operation"); TRSSPV (Available only to registered users) This is a modified version of the TRSCLK program for individuals with supervisor level access. It is almost identical to TRSCLK asfar as functionality is concerned. The main difference is that a supervisor password is required to get into the program, after which no more passwords are required for any functions. TRSSPV will also allow access to data from prior years. Individuals without Supervisor access cannot run this program. (Note: The TRSCLK program must have run before TRSSPV can be executed). TRSWRK (Available only to registered users) This program performs the same functions as TRSSTN and, in addition, allows the users to display the whereabouts of other employees in a format similar to that on the Reporting Console. However, no updates on that information are possibe. If the network is so configured, this program can be used by anyone on the network. TRSRPT (Available only to registered users) This program produces summary and detail reports on the in/out activity of employees. (Information on sample reports can be found in the TRSRPT documentation). The required reports can be shown on screen or can be routed to a printfile for hardcopy. HOW TO INSTALL & RUN THE PROGRAMS ================================= Install the programs by coping all files into a new or existing directory. To execute any of the programs, enter the following at the prompt: program-name [ path-name ] program-name: Use the name of the program you wish to execute. path-name: This item is optional. If omitted, the TRS files are expected in the same directory as the TRS programs. If they are not, specify the full path name of where the data files are located or where they are to be created and terminate the path with a backslash. i.e. trsclk (files in same directory as the programs) or trsclk c:\clock\data\ (files in c:\clock\data directory) The programs will run both in color and black and white depending on configuration. The proper selection will be made automatically. Use the Esc key to cancel any operation or to exit the programs. (To exit the TRSSTN program type Q when asked for employee number). ERROR MESSAGES ============== If a fatal error occurs the system will issue an explanatory message. Messages starting with F-xxx/xxxnn indicate fatal file errors. For those messages where nn is 02 or 30 -- a data file has been corrupted. Use a backup copy of the file to replace it or create a new file in another directory using the TRSCLK program and replace it. 14,15,18,19 or 25 -- the disk may be full. Delete unnecessary files and restart the program. 80,82,84,85,86 or 87 -- restart the program. If unsuccessful, log out, log back in and try again. For file errors with other numbers or if the above solutions do not work, contact IDG Micro Products by sending any pertinent information and copies of the data files to the address on page 1.THE FILES ========= The TRSCLK program, when first executed, will create four files in the program directory or the directory specified by "path name". If a path is specified, this directory must be created prior to executing this program. EMPLOYEE.Bxx This file will contain all employee related information. It is empty when created. When first executing the program, start by entering employee information. Employees once added cannot be deleted. They can however be unlisted from the attendance display screen. (See also "Year-end operation" below). REASON.Bxx This file contains absentee reason codes. Reason codes "A" thru "L" are assigned by the system and are added when the file is created for the first time. These codes can be disabled but cannot be changed by the user with the exception of the Work/No Work indicator. (Reason codes E and I through L cannot be changed at all). Codes "M" thru "W" are user-definable and, although they can be disabled at any time, cannot be deleted once defined. (See also "Year-end operation" below). HOLIDAY.Bxx This file will contain information on all statutory holidays and other days on which the office will be officially closed. These days should be entered as soon as possible after installation. For proper year-end operation, add days early in the following year as well (i.e. January 1). This file can also be used for dates related to automatic changeover to and from daylight savings time. (See also "Maintain Holiday Schedule"). TIME.Bxx This file will contain one record for every day on which an employee has been in the office or was booked off as being absent for an extended period, such as holidays, sick leave etc. No records will be created for dates listed in the Holiday file or for weekends, except when an employee has actually booked in or out on such days or for working days on which the employee was not in. The "xx" in the Bxx file extension indicates the year to which the file pertains (i.e. EMPLOYEE.B91 is for the 1991 employee file). YEAR-END OPERATION ================== The TRSCLK program will automatically create new data files for the new year. This can happen under the following scenarios: TRSCLK program active ===================== If the program is running on midnight, December 31, a new set of files will be created with an extension indicating the new year. Contents of the new files will be as follows: Employee file: All employee records will be copied from the previous year with the exception of those employees whose records indicate they are no longer with the company. Holiday file: Will contain all records from the old file which are in what is now the current year. Records pertaining to the year just passed will not be copied. (Please note: January 1st of the year following the current year should always be included in the Holiday file for people who want to book in late the next working day at year's end. (See also the TRSSTN and TRSWRK User documentation, options "B" and "L"). Reason file: Will contain reason codes "A" thru "L" and all user- defined reason codes which were not disabled at the time. Time file: As long as files for the new year do not exist, the TRSSTN and TRSWRK programs will have been reporting all time transactions in last year's Time file. Therefore, TRSCLK will copy all records for the new year which were logged in last year's Time file, into the new Time file. Such records are subsequently deleted from last year's file. If no such records are found, the new Time file will be empty. TRSCLK program NOT active ========================= If the program is not active on midnight December 31 (i.e. program was deliberately terminated or was halted because of a power failure or other unforeseen circumstance), and is started in the new year, it will perform the same functions as if it had been active at midnight on December 31. Please note that, in both scenarios, TRSCLK will create empty files for those it cannot find from last year. PLEASE NOTE: Running more than one copy of TRSCLK, using the same data files, can cause serious, unpredictable results particularly at year-end. Make sure ONLY ONE copy of TRSCLK is active at any one time. Use TRSRCP if multiple receptionists are on the system. TRSSPV/TRSRCP programs active ============================= Both programs will issue a message at midnight and will wait for the TRSCLK program to create files for the new year. Once these files are created, the program will resume normal operations. The programs can be terminated if desired while waiting for new file creation. TRSSTN program active ===================== The program will check to see if files for the new year have been created. If no such files are found it will continue to process transactions in the old files until the new year's files have been created. It will then open the new year's files. TRSWRK program active ===================== Identical to TRSSTN. As long as files for the new year are not found, the "D" option will display information from last year's files. TRSCLK/TRSSPV/TRSRCP Programs ============================= User documentation Upon initial execution, the program will display status information on the opened files. (When TRSCLK is executed for the first time it creates new files in the path specified in the execute statement). When executing the TRSCLK/TRSRCP programs, the current date and time are shown. Should the time information be incorrect, changes can be made from the main menu (See "The Main Menu"). Changes to incorrect date information should be made by the person responsible for the network and cannot be made through these programs. Press any key to proceed to the Main Menu. When running TRSSPV, enter the Supervisor password. (TRSSPV will terminate after receiving three incorrect passwords). When the correct password is given, it will display the Main Menu and will not require further passwords to execute any of its functions. To execute any of the programs, enter the following at the prompt: program-name [ path-name ] program-name: Use TRSCLK, TRSSPV or TRSRCP depending on which program you wish to execute. path-name: This item is optional. If omitted, the TRS files are expected in the same directory as the TRS programs. If they are not, specify the full path name of where the data files are located or where they are to be created and terminate the path with a backslash. i.e. trsclk (files in same directory as the programs) or trsclk c:\clock\data\ (files in c:\clock\data directory) MAIN MENU ========= The Main Menu lists the available options. The required security levels for these options are as follows: Option name Password required =========== ================= Maintain Employee data Reception or Supervisor Maintain Absentee Reason codes Supervisor Maintain Holiday schedule Supervisor Show Attendance Information None Set System Time Reception or Supervisor Set Passwords Supervisor Access previous days' data Supervisor The default value for the supervisor password is "supervisor". For the receptionist it is "reception". Please note that passwords are case-sensitive. (Check therefore to make sure the Caps Lock is not engaged when entering the password unless it was established that way!!). To ensure the integrity of the system it is recommended that both passwords are changed as soon as possible after installation. To cancel any operation in the program, get out of any function and to exit the program, press ESCape. Maintain Employee Data Sub Menu (Option "E") ============================================ Use this function to create and maintain employee records. Information includes last name, first name, telephone extension, the employee's regular working hours and information related to an extended absence (one full day or longer). The latter includes a reason for the absence and the period covered. This period may span years, i.e. from September 1, 1992 until February 16, 1993. For every working day during the extended absence, the program will create a time record indicating the absence. On the day the period expires, the employee record will automatically be reset. To manually reset the absence information, update the employee record by entering "X" as the reason code. Periods of absence can be recorded in advance and will not interfere with the employee's transactions in the days prior to the absence. The available options in this sub menu are as follows: A Add an employee =============== To add an employee, the user is prompted for a number of items required to set up a new employee record. Employee number Enter the number of the employee. (Valid range is between 1 and 999). Employee last name The last name can contain letters, spaces, apostrophies (') and dashes (-) only. Its length cannot exceed 15 characters. Employee first name The first name can contain letters, spaces, apostrophies (') and dashes (-) only. Its length cannot exceed 10 characters. Employee Telephone Extension Enter the employee's telephone extension. The extension is optional and is not validated. Maximum length is 4 characters. Employee Start Time The regular start time of the employee. If no data is entered, 9:00 AM is used as the default. Times must be entered in a 24- hr format, i.e. 800 for 8:00 AM, 1330 for 1:30 PM. (DO NOT type the colon ':'). Employee Stop Time The regular stop time for the employee. The default here is 5:00 PM. Again, times must be entered in a 24-hr format. If errors are made during data entry, use the 'up' or 'down" arrow keys to go to the field to be changed. Within the field, use left and right arrow keys as well as the Home and End keys. The Insert and Delete key can be used as appropriate. C Change employee information =========================== Use this option to change the information for a given employee. All information shown may be changed. Use the Enter key or the UP/DN arrow keys to get to the field that needs change and edit the field. If all necessary corrections have been made before reaching the last field on the screen, press Ctrl-Enter to complete the update. The information that can be changed is the same as that in the "Add" function but also includes information on extended absence from the office for any valid reason, the start date of the absence and the expected date of return, as follows: Reason code Type the letter representing one of the valid reason codes shown. (Some codes are restricted from use as a reason for prolonged absence, i.e. coffee break, and will not show. See also "Maintain Absentee Reason Codes Sub Menu"). To remove any previously recorded absence from an employee record, type "X". Start and End dates Once a valid reason is entered, the program will prompt for the start and end date of the absence period. Enter the dates in the format YYMMDD, where YY are the last 2 digits of the year, MM is the month (include leading zero) and DD is the day (include leading zero). I.e. 920601 for June 1, 1992. Pressing return without data at the start date will insert today's date. The Start date must be today's date or be in the future and cannot be in the past. The End date must be larger than the Start date. Please note that the "end" date is the day of expected return, NOT the last day of the employee's absence. Therefore an employee who is off for a week should have Monday as the date of return and not the Friday. The period of absence may span years (i.e. 921005 to 930216). U Unlist an employee ================== Use this option to remove an employee from the attendance display screen. The employee is not physically removed from the system since there may be time records present. This option is generally used when an employee's employment is terminated. Employees who have been unlisted will not be copied to the new Employee file at year's end. R Relist an employee This option is used to re-activate the listing on the attendance display for employees who had been previously unlisted. L List employee information Information will be displayed for all employees on the system at the present time, including employees who have been unlisted. For any employees absent for the day or for a prolonged period, the reason and the period of absence is also displayed. The names of employees are listed a screen at a time. Press any key to continue scrolling or ESC to abandon this option. The arrow and page keys have no effect. Scrolling will be in forward mode only. Maintain Absentee Reason Codes Sub Menu (Option "R") The Reason code file is used to record and maintain information on valid reasons for an employee's absence. Reason codes "A" thru "L" are generated by the system and changes to them are restricted to the selection of paid versus unpaid leave, some cannot be changed at all. The letters "M" thru "W" can be used as user-defined codes. (The letter "X" is reserved for cancelling absentee information from the employee record. See also "Change employee information"). Since codes are expected to be used after they have been added, no user defined codes can be removed from the file in the current year. The user can however disable these codes and all system generated codes and their use will, once disabled, no longer be possible unless and until they get enabled again. At year-end all disabled user-defined codes are purged from the new year's Reason file. The available options are as follows: A Add codes ========= Used to add absentee reason codes. Codes "A" thru "L" are pre- assigned and are created automatically when TRSCLK is initially executed. User definable codes are from "M" through "W". (The letter "X" is used to cancel long term absence information in the Employee record). When a code is added, it must have a description of no more than 15 characters. Certain codes may not be used as a reason for being late the "next working day" (i.e. Coffee Break, Lunch, etc) and their use must be identified as being limited to "today" or not. Reply "Y" to indicate that you want to limit its use, otherwise respond with "N". For more information on "next working day" absence, see the TRSSTN/TRSWRK User documentation, options "B" and "L". User defined codes must also indicate whether time off for this reason is considered 'work' or not. Make the appropriate selection. The Work/Nowork indicator is only used for calculations in the reporting program TRSRPT. (Available to all registered TRS users). C Change codes ============ Use this option to change a reason code's existing information by answering the various questions. (See also "Add codes" above). No changes are allowed on some system generated codes while others may only be changed to indicate whether they are to be considered 'work' or not. D Disable codes ============= Use this option to disable a reason code. Please note that codes "A" thru "L" can be disabled but will, at year's end, not be removed from the new Reason file, unlike user-defined codes which will be removed when disabled. E Enable Codes ============ To reinstate a previously disabled code. L List codes ========== Use this option to display a list of current absentee codes on the screen. Press any key to continue scrolling, ESC to abandon the scrolling. No backward scrolling possible. Maintain Holiday schedule (Option "H") ====================================== The Holiday file is used to help determine next working days. (For more information on "next working day", see also the TRSSTN/TRSWRK User documentation, options "B" and "L"). The dates in the file should represent all statutory holidays for the current year and any other days on which the office will be officially closed. For example, an employee could indicate on Thursday April 16th that he/she will be in late the next working day by selecting the "B" or "L" option in the TRSSTN or TRSWRK program. Normally that would cause the system to recognize Friday, April 17th as the next working day. However, with April 17th (Good Friday) listed in the statutory holiday file, it will establish Monday, April 20th as the actual next working day and will therefore book the employee in late for that day. An additional feature allows for the automatic handling of time changes associated with daylight saving time. Dates entered with descriptions of '-' or '+' will indicate the date on which the time is to be turned back (-) or advanced (+) by one hour. After the time adjustment is made on that day, the record is removed from the holiday file. The available options are as follows: A Add days ======== Used to add statutory holidays or other days on which the office will be officially closed. Enter the date in the YYMMDD format. This is followed by a brief description which should be between 5 and 20 characters in length. Dates with descriptions which contain only the '-' or '+' character will be interpreted as daylight saving time records. The system time will be turned back (-) or advanced (+) on that date by one hour. Make sure there is only one record of each and that the dates are correct. C Change days =========== Used to change the description of the holiday. Limited to between 5 and 20 characters. No validation will take place. Descriptions with only '-' or '+' will be interpreted as daylight saving time days. (See also under "Add days" above for a description). D Delete days =========== Use this function to physically delete a previously recorded holiday from the system. The date removed cannot be recalled and must be added again should it be required. Dates which preceed the day of attempted deletion cannot be removed. L List days ========= Use this option to display a list of current holidays. Press any key to continue scrolling, ESC to abandon the scrolling. No backward scrolling possible. Show Attendance Information (Option "S") ======================================== Employees are listed in alphabetical order by last name, with 22 names per screen. The "up" and "down" arrow keys can be used to scroll through the names, as can the "Home", "PgUp" and "PgDn" and "End" keys. The "End" key will cause the last 22 names to be listed. For quicker access to a person's name, press the key with the first letter of the last name to start the display with the first person whose name starts with that letter. Employee numbers may be preceeded by warning indicators '!!', '>' or '='. A '!!' indicates that there is an "out" time, which is NOT past the person's recorded stop time and which does not have a reason code or an "in" time which does. The problem could be the deletion of an existing time causing the shift from "in" to "out" for all subsequent times. Use the Detail Time screen to fix the problem. The '>' indicator usually means that an employee has clocked in for the day, even though the employee record indicates that he/she will be out of the office for that day or that this is an unlisted employee. The '=' indicator means that a time record was created but no longer contains any information. The record should be removed by someone with supervisor access or changed to indicate an absence or the appropriate in/out times. These warning indicators are only meant to alert the receptionist to a potential problem but have no effect on the operation of the clock programs nor on the time data for that employee. To exit the time display screen and return to the Main Menu, press ESC. Detailed Time Information ========================= To see an employee's detailed "in-out" activity information for the day or to make changes and adjustments to these activities, cursor down to the employee whose information you want to see and press Enter. To ensure the integrity of the information, access for the purposes of updates requires a password. Time records can be deleted by individuals with supervisor access only, using the "R" option. USE CAUTION WITH THIS OPTION. The information displayed will show each time the employee has booked "in" or "out" during the day. For "out" times this should include the reason and time of return, unless the time is past the employee's normal working hours. Since each employee record holds a maximum of 16 ins and outs and in order to conserve space, an absence of 5 minutes or less is not recorded. For the same reason, people who have indicated that they are in a meeting (reason codes "J" and "K") and who subsequently book back in or book out will have the meeting entry and the return entry removed. If the employee has not booked him/herself back in or out, the system will automatically delete the meeting entry when the indicated time of return is exceeded. If the "Not returning" option was used by the employee when booking out for the meeting, the system will NOT book him/her back in automatically. (See also the TRSSTN/TRSWRK User documentation, options "B" and "L"). Information may be updated as indicated at the bottom of the screen. After entering a current password, the following options are available. To make changes to the recorded in-out times. A Add a time to the employee record ================================= This option is used to add an "in" or "out" time to the employee record. The time entered (based on a 24-hr clock, i.e. 3:00 PM must be entered as 1500) will automatically be inserted in its chronological order. As a result, all times following the time entered will be moved up one position. Since the times are recorded in an in-out-in-out fashion, this will cause these later times to go from "in" to "out" and vice-versa. Further adjustments may therefore be necessary. The time to be inserted will be interpreted to be an in or out time by its chronological order. Adding an "in" time therefore requires only a time to be entered, while "out" times also require a reason and time back. Hence, if you wish to insert times between an "in" and an "out" time, the "out" time must be recorded first, after which the earlier "in" time can be added. If the times are to be inserted between an "out" and an "in" time, the order in which they should be added is reversed. C Change an existing time ======================= Use this option to change an in/out time, reason or time of return. If no data is entered, no changes will be made to the existing field. Fields cannot be cleared. To delete a reason or time of return from an "out" time, first delete the existing time, then add it again without these fields. In/out times which are changed must be kept in chronological order (i.e. the time of 2:30 PM which might be located between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM can only be changed to a time between 1 and 4 PM. It cannot be changed to 5:00 PM). D Delete an existing time ======================= Use this option to delete a time shown on the list. As in option "A" above, any deletion of a time will cause a change in all times following that time from "in" to "out" and vice versa. Further adjustments may therefore be necessary. R Remove this employee's time record ================================== This option is only shown and available to individuals who used the Supervisor password when entering the detail screen or when in the TRSSPV program. The function removes the complete time record for the selected employee from the Time file and caution is therefore advised. Records, once deleted, are NOT recoverable, although they can be reconstructed using the "A", "B" or "L" options. PLEASE NOTE: If an employee is booked out on a long term absence, the time record can be deleted but no changes will be made to the employee record. The display will therefore still show that the employee is absent. If this is NOT appropriate, use the "U" option to reset the absence information in the employee record by entering "X" as the absence reason. To make changes to an employee record. U Update an employee record ========================= See the change option (Option "C") in the "Maintain Employee Data Sub Menu" for further information. L Late today ========== Use this option for employees who will be coming in late and who did not book themselves in late by using the "B" or "L" option in the TRSSTN/TRSWRK program the previous working day. (See also the User documentation for these programs). Enter the reason code for the absence and the expected time in. B Book a person out for the day ============================= This option is used to book a person out who is not going to be in at all that day. It cannot be used for someone who has been in and leaves again. If no long term absence is already recorded in the employee record or if the day preceeds the start date of such long term absence, this option updates the employee record with the indicated reason for the absence, using today as the start date and the next working day as the day of expected return. If the date falls within the recorded absence, no change to the employee record is made. Please note that, should the current date fall outside the recorded absence period, this information will be changed as if it had not been present. A warning will be given and the absence information will have to be recorded again at a later date. Set System Time (Option "T") ============================ System clocks have the habit of straying and will therefore not always be accurate. This option will allow the user to set the system clock to accurately reflect the current time. The amount by which the time may be adjusted up or down is limited to 10 minutes for individuals with receptionist access. Supervisor level access is required to make larger adjustments. (i.e. to reflect daylight saving time, if that was not already taken care of by the presence of special entries in the Holiday file). (See also "Maintain Holiday Schedule") To change the time, enter the new time information in the format HH:MM using a 24-hr clock (i.e. 16:45 for 4:45 PM). No leading zeros are required in the hours ( 9:30 versus 09:30 ). The semicolon (":") IS required here. The time, if valid, WILL BE UPDATED. Confirm the accuracy of the information when asked to do so. An "N" reply will repeat the process. Should you wish to exit without making changes to the current time shown on the top of the screen, press ESC or Enter without entering data. NOTE: In order to make changes to the time information, the person making the change must have been assigned "console operator" privileges on the network or the update will fail. In case of multiple bridged networks, the time change will NOT be made across all servers but will be limited to the server used by TRS.Set Passwords (Option "P") ========================== In order to safeguard the integrity of the information, the system offers two levels of access, each with its own password. A basic password, used mostly by the receptionist to update the time and employee information and a supervisor password, which allows changes to be made to files and information at a higher level. When TRSCLK is executed for the first time, the default Supervisor password is set to "supervisor", the basic password is set to "reception". It is suggested that both passwords are changed to something new as soon as possible after installation. To change the password(s), enter the Supervisor password (in case the password has not been changed since installation, enter "supervisor"). You will then be asked to enter the new Supervisor password of maximum 10 letters with no other characters allowed. Upper and lower case letters may be used, however, PLEASE NOTE: Passwords are case sensitive and must be entered exactly as they were recorded! Check Caps Lock if a problem arises. Confirm the new password by entering the same information at the "Verify" prompt. If the information is the same, the new password is now active. The program will repeat the same procedure for the receptionist password. If this password is the only one you wish to change, press Enter without data when asked for the NEW Supervisor password. To exit from this function at any time press ESC. NOTE: For your protection, the system features a built-in "back-door". Should you ever forget the Supervisor password or should it have been changed by someone else who previously had supervisor access, you can still get access to all the supervisor functions by requesting a collect telephone call to receive a temporary password which will allow you to update both passwords. Send your request to the author with your name and title, company name and address and phone number. Access Prior Days (Option "A") ============================== This option allows individuals with Supervisor access to view and update employee time records for prior days in the current year. Once the required date is entered (in the format MMDD, leading zeros required), the user will see the "Show Attendance Information" screen with information for that date. All options and functions normally available for today's date are also available on the newly selected date. To return to today's date, press ESC until the Main Menu is displayed. The TRSSPV program, available to Registered Users only, will also allow access to dates not only in the current year but also to dates in files of prior years. The Supervisor will be prompted for the year first. If the required date is in the current year, press Enter, otherwise enter the required year in the format YY, representing the last two digits in the year. TRSSTN and TRSWRK Programs ========================== User Documentation The Time Reporting System (TRS) is designed to replace the inefficient "in-out" boards generally found in reception areas. The TRS is a PC-based system running on Novell networks and allowing employees to indicate their current whereabouts in order to improve the company's internal communication and the efficiency of the receptionist(s) when handling client telephone calls. The TRS consists of one or more Time Reporting Consoles (TRC), dedicated PCs found at receptionist desks as well as dedicated Time Recording Units (TRU) and/or other PCs hooked up to the network. The Consoles will display for each employee whether he/she is "in" or "out" and, if "out", the reason for the absence and the expected time of return. The receptionist also has the ability to add and change employee information, including booking people out for prolonged periods (i.e. business trips, vacations, sick leave etc), correcting mistakes due to failure by an employee to book in or out during the day and change the system server's clock time. Recording Units are one or more dedicated PCs used by employees to log their in/out activity during the day. It can also be used by employees who expect to be in late the next working day. Other PC workstations on the network can do what the TRU does and, in addition, can display the current whereabouts of other employees in a format identical to that at the receptionist station. However, they cannot perform any updates on that information. The TRSSTN and TRSWRK programs are used to record the in/out activity of employees over the course of the day. Employees must therefore book themselves in or out AT ALL TIMES, even if they are gone for only a short while. If a mistake is made at any time, prior to completing the transaction, press the ESCape key to cancel the current operation. To execute the TRSSTN/TRSWRK programs, enter the following at the prompt: program-name path-name program-name: Use TRSSTN or TRSWRK depending on which program you wish to execute. path-name: This item is optional. If omitted, the TRS files are expected in the same directory as the TRS programs. If they are not, specify the full path name of where the data files are located and terminate the path with a backslash. i.e. trsstn (files in same directory as the programs) or trsstn c:\clock\data\ (files in c:\clock\data directory) For a controlled exit from the TRSSTN program, type "Q" when asked for the employee number. (Make sure the letter Q is upper-case!). To exit the TRSWRK program press ESCape until asked to confirm exiting the program. The TRSWRK program, available only to Regsitered Users, offers two initial options: "B" option ========== This option is used to book in or out. The procedure is identical to that of the TRSSTN program. "D" option ========== This option allows the employee to see a list of all employees, whether they are in or out of the office and when they will be back, starting with the letter A. To scroll through the employee names, use the PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys or type the first letter of the last name. Arrow keys have no effect. This function cannot be used to change any of the information shown, nor is detail information available. The options in TRSSTN and TRSWRK (after selecting "B") are: Coming into the office (Option "C") =================================== After entering the employee number, a list of options will be shown as well as the employee's name. After pressing "C" for Coming in, the system will log the employee in at the time the transaction was completed. This time will be shown upon completion of the transaction, except when the absence was less than five minutes. If by accident a mistake was made in the employee number and the employee name shown IS NOT THE EMPLOYEE's, pressing the ESCape key will repeat the process. Leaving the office (Options "G" and "L") ======================================== After entering the employee number, a list of options will be shown. There are two options when leaving the office. "G" option: =========== If the employee leaves ON OR AFTER the end of his/her regular working hours as recorded in the employee record, he/she will be booked out as having left for the day and no further action is necessary. If the employee leaves the office BEFORE the end of regular working hours, a list of available absentee reason codes is displayed. The appropriate code must be selected. If the code selected is "B" (Coffee break) the system will automatically put in an expected return time 15 minutes from the time the employee books out. Otherwise, after selecting the appropriate reason code, a list of return times will be shown. The list of available times will vary with each employee and will reflect the available times, in half hour increments, between the then current time of day and the end of the employee's working hours. The expected time of return can be selected by typing the letter preceeding that time. The letter preceeding the option "Not returning" should be selected if the employee does not expect to return to the office again that day. When using the "J" or "K" option to book out for a meeting, the time the meeting is expected to end must be selected. The system will automatically book the employee back in when that time is reached. If the meeting is over sooner than expected or if the employee chose the "Not returning" option when booking out for the meeting, he/she should book in again using option "C". The meeting entry will always be removed when leaving the office using the "G" or "L" option. If the time of booking out with this option is the first time for that day, the employee will be asked if he/she worked past midnight. If the answer is no, then the employee must have forgotten to clock in earlier and a warning will be issued. If the employee did work past midnight, the system will book him/her in at one minute after midnight and out at the current time. It will then check the previous day's record. If it finds the last recorded time to be an "in" time, it will book the employee out at 11:59 PM. If yesterday's last recorded time was an "out" time, NO changes will be made to the record. "L" option: =========== If the employee leaves the office for the day and knows he/she will be in late or not in at all the next working day, this option should be used. Since it is a combination of the "G" option and the "B" option, please see these options for more details. Please note that "next working day" is not necessarily considered tomorrow. If the current day would be Friday, next working day would be Monday. If Monday is a statutory holiday and is listed in the Holiday file, next working day will be interpreted as Tuesday. If the employee uses this option ON OR AFTER the end of the regular working hours, the system will book him/her out as having left for the day and offer selections for next working day ONLY consisting of a reason and expected time in. (See also "B" option, outlined below). If the employee leaves the office BEFORE the end of regular working hours he/she will be taken through the same process as in option "G", immediately followed by the selections for "Next working day" (see below under option "B"). "B" option. Booking in late "Next working day" ============================================= If the employee knows he/she will be in late or not in al all the next working day, this option can be used at any time during the day. Please note that "next working day" is not necessarily considered tomorrow. If the current day would be Friday, next working day would be Monday. If Monday is a statutory holiday, listed in the Holiday file, next working day will be interpreted as Tuesday. If a mistake is made in or if the employee wishes to make changes to the reason or time of return when processing "Next working day" transactions thru either the "B" or "L" option, the "B" option can be used at any time to correct or change the information recorded previously. The last information entered will override anything previously recorded. Should an employee have forgotten to book in late for the day or to tell the receptionist of his/her absence that day, the receptionist must be notified as soon as possible and advised of the reason for the absence and the time of expected return. If no reason was entered, such absence will be considered Personal time off. The TRSRPT Program ================== This program, available only to registered users of the TRS system, produces summary and detail reports on the in/out activity of employees. Reports can be shown on screen or can be routed to a printfile for hardcopy and can be produced from any year's files. Sample reports can be found in the files with extensions HP - For HP Laserjet or compatible printers 80 - For any 80 character printers 132 - For any 132 character printers To print these sample files, type > copy {filename} LPT1: (or other printer port). The menu choices within TRSRPT are self explanatory.